Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Mary Foster, writing for The Associated Press, reported on the Southern Decadence parade, also known as the "Gay Mardi Gras" held this past weekend in New Orleans. The event has been canceled two years out of the last four due to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, so this year's calm weather was a welcome sight to event organizers. The event started, over 40 years ago as a birthday party bar crawl with about a dozen New Orleans residents making the French Quarter circuit. It has grown to one of the major gay events in the country, attracting about 100,000 people in the past, a welcome economic boost for French Quarter merchants during one of the slowest tourist periods. Although some of the events -- such as the "Wet Jockey Shorts" contest -- are certainly X-rated, organizer Jonathon Bray, maintains the overall festival is not.

"No, we have a lot of families turn out the see the parade and costume contests," Bray said. "And a lot of heterosexuals think it's hip to dance at a gay club. I'd say it's risque, with a few X-rated moments."